Zelenskyy describes talks as ‘difficult’ and accuses Russia of ‘dragging out negotiations’
Zelenskyy has described the talks with the US and Russia as “difficult” and accused Russia of “trying to drag out negotiations” when they could have reached the final stage.
In a social media post, the Ukrainian president said:
Yesterday there were meetings in different formats – both bilateral between Ukraine and the United States and multilateral formats. In particular, there were talks between Ukrainian, American, and Russian representatives … The Ukrainian delegation, together with the American team, also met with European representatives – from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.
We consider Europe’s participation in the process indispensable for the successful implementation of entirely feasible agreements – Ukraine has no doubt that partners are capable of ensuring the constructiveness of the negotiation process and, therefore, a dignified result.
Yesterday’s meetings were indeed difficult, and we can state that Russia is trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage. I thank the American side for its attention to detail and patience in conversations with the current representatives of Russia.
Key events
Zelenskyy: No agreement on key issues in Geneva talks
Zelenskyy said there has been no agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the key issues at the US-mediated talks in Geneva.
“We can see that some groundwork has been done, but for now the positions differ, because the negotiations were not easy,” the Ukrainian president told reporters after the talks had finished, according to the AFP news agency.
He listed the fate of occupied territories in Ukraine’s east and the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Russia has taken control of, as the unresolved “sensitive” issues in the peace talks.
Sean Ingle
Ukraine sports minister slams Russia’s Winter Paralympics entry as ‘deeply outrageous’
Ukraine’s sports minister has condemned the decision to allow six Russians and four Belarusians to compete under their nation’s flags at next month’s Winter Paralympics as “disappointing and outrageous”.
“The flags of Russia and Belarus have no place at international sporting events that stand for fairness, integrity, and respect,” said Matvii Bidnyi in response to the International Paralympic Committee’s decision on Monday.
“These are the flags of regimes that have turned sport into a tool of war, lies, and contempt. In Russia, Paralympic sport has been made a pillar for those whom Putin sent to Ukraine to kill – and who returned from Ukraine with injuries and disabilities,” he added.
Read the full report here:
Geneva peace talks ‘intensive’ and there is ‘progress’ – Umerov
News agencies have reported some comments from Rustem Umerov, the head of the Ukrainian delegation.
He told reporters that the talks were “intensive and substantive” and that a number of issues were clarified, without providing further details.
“There is progress but no details can be disclosed at this stage,” he was quoted as saying.
Taz Ali
The peace talks ended abruptly today after about two hours, according to reports, in contrast with yesterday’s negotiations that apparently took place over six hours.
Neither side have offered any public sign of progress, but instead said the talks were “difficult” with Russian news agencies quoting sources describing the negotiations as “very tense”.
Officials have remained tight-lipped about the deliberations, but the talks seem to have stalled on the fate of Ukrainian-held territory in the east that Russia wants under its control as the price for ending the war, a demand that Kyiv considers a nonstarter.
Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told reporters that further negotiations would be held soon, without specifying a date.
Talks were ‘difficult’ but will continue in ‘near future’, says Russia’s chief negotiator
The Russian state-owned news agency Ria Novosti has reported some comments by Moscow’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky after today’s meeting ended.
“The negotiations lasted two days: a very long time yesterday in various formats, and about two hours today. They were difficult, but businesslike,” he was quoted as saying.
The next meeting will take place in the near future, Medinsky added.
Just moments before his remarks, Zelenskyy posted a message on social media also describing the talks as “difficult”.
Peace talks in Geneva end
News agencies, citing officials, are reporting that the peace talks in Geneva have ended. Reuters quoted one Ukrainian official as saying the talks lasted about two hours.
Zelenskyy describes talks as ‘difficult’ and accuses Russia of ‘dragging out negotiations’
Zelenskyy has described the talks with the US and Russia as “difficult” and accused Russia of “trying to drag out negotiations” when they could have reached the final stage.
In a social media post, the Ukrainian president said:
Yesterday there were meetings in different formats – both bilateral between Ukraine and the United States and multilateral formats. In particular, there were talks between Ukrainian, American, and Russian representatives … The Ukrainian delegation, together with the American team, also met with European representatives – from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.
We consider Europe’s participation in the process indispensable for the successful implementation of entirely feasible agreements – Ukraine has no doubt that partners are capable of ensuring the constructiveness of the negotiation process and, therefore, a dignified result.
Yesterday’s meetings were indeed difficult, and we can state that Russia is trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage. I thank the American side for its attention to detail and patience in conversations with the current representatives of Russia.
Paul Taylor
Without US military support, we need a European defence union. Here’s what that looks like
After a year of Donald Trump’s second term and two Munich Security Conferences, we now know that Europe will have to defend itself in future with less US support; probably with much less US support; and possibly – gulp – with no US support at all.
European leaders recognise that they need to reduce overdependence on the US. Yet many, including Keir Starmer and to an extent Friedrich Merz, are still clinging to the wreckage of the transatlantic relationship. They do so in hope, rather than certainty, that the US will come to Europe’s aid if Russia attacks Nato territory.
Who truly believes that Trump, who prefers one-day displays of US power, would commit US forces to an open-ended war in Europe – with potential nuclear risks – if Vladimir Putin suddenly grabbed a Russian-speaking border town in Estonia, or the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard?
All European governments now realise they will have to take responsibility for the defence of Europe, potentially on their own.
Read this opinion piece in full here:
Talks focused on clarifying boundaries, says Umerov
We have confirmation from Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s national security council chief and top negotiator, that the talks in Geneva have begun.
“Consultations are taking place in focus groups within the political and military blocs. We are working to clarify the parameters and mechanics of the solutions discussed yesterday,” he posted on social media, without providing further details.
“We are focused on subject-specific work. We will inform you about the results later,” he added.
It is widely reported that the two sides remain at loggerheads on key issues including control of territory in eastern Ukraine.
While peace talks are taking place, the Ukrainian energy ministry reported that four regions are without power this morning due to Russian attacks against infrastructure.
Thousands are affected by the power outages in Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk in the south and Sumy in the north-east, the ministry said in a Telegram post.
More than 99,000 people are without power in Odesa where the situation “remains difficult”, the ministry said, as it blamed the outage on Russian shelling that has damaged equipment and adverse weather conditions.
Ukraine sanctions Belarus leader for supporting Russia’s war
Ukraine has sanctioned the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko for providing military support to Russia and enabling “the killing of Ukrainians”, Zelenskyy has announced.
Lukashenko, one of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, has allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory as a launchpad for its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has also said it is stationing nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile systems in Belarus, a hypersonic ballistic weapon that Putin has claimed is impervious to air defences.
Belarus has allowed Russia to deploy various military equipment to the country, Ukraine alleges, including relay stations that connect to Russian attack drones, fired in their hundreds every night at Ukrainian cities.
“Today Ukraine applied a package of sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko, and we will significantly intensify countermeasures against all forms of his assistance in the killing of Ukrainians,” Zelensky said in a social media post.
Zelensky accused Lukashenko of helping Russia avoid Western sanctions and that he was “actively justifying Russia’s war, and now further increasing his own participation in scaling and prolonging the war”.
“There will be special consequences for this,” he added.
Peace talks in Geneva begin – reports
Russian state media are reporting that the peace talks in Geneva have begun. We have some early images from the newswires of the scene outside the Intercontinental hotel where the second day of negotiations are taking place.
Zelenskyy says Trump exerting undue pressure as Ukraine-Russia peace talks enter second day
Good morning and welcome to our Europe live blog. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US was putting undue pressure on him to bring the war to an end, as negotiators from Ukraine and Russia are set to gather for a second day of peace talks in Geneva.
The US-brokered negotiations in Switzerland began on Tuesday but expectations for any breakthroughs were low, with neither side seemingly willing to budge on key issues including control of territory in eastern Ukraine and future security guarantees, despite the US setting a June deadline for a settlement.
US president Donald Trump has recently suggested that the onus was on Ukraine to take steps to ensure the talks were successful, but Zelenskyy has hit back, saying it was “not fair” that Trump is publicly calling on Ukraine, and not Russia, to make concessions for peace.
“I hope it is just his tactics and not the decision,” Zelenskyy told the US website Axios.
He said any plan requiring Ukraine to give up territory that Russia had not captured in the eastern Donbas region would be rejected by Ukrainians if put to a referendum.
Elsewhere, the Danish king is due to start a three-day visit to Greenland, in a show of support to the autonomous Danish territory coveted by Trump. The US president’s threats to seize the Arctic island by force if necessary have increased diplomatic tensions between Washington and Nato member Denmark, but Trump has insisted that Greenland is needed by the US for national security and defence reasons. While Trump has dialled back his threats to take over the island, King Frederik has expressed his solidarity with Greenland, which is home to 58,000 people.
Also today, many Christians and Muslims across Europe will be fasting side by side as they mark the beginning of Ash Wednesday and Ramadan respectively. During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset for a month, while Christians observe a 40-day period of lent leading up to Easter.
